Weekly Preview: 1/27-2/1, 2013

It's January in Iowa, so that means crazy weather.  It's only Tuesday, and we've had an ice storm, dense fog, and a high of 65 degrees.  Tonight we're expecting 2-4 inches of snow.  It feels a little crazy in school too, so it's only fitting.  Here's the scoop for room 101 this week:

6th GOAL:  This week, we're learning how to graph data on Google docs, and we're going to be analyzing the results of our Science Fair experiments.  Experiments should have been done last week, but we have a few stragglers.  Get those experiments done so we can start getting the data ready for our display boards!

7th GOAL:  This week, we're up to our eyeballs in History Day research.  Friday is the last day we have a computer lab reserved for this, so extra work will need to be done at home to find enough resources to make a good History Day project.

8th GOAL:  This week, we're finishing the creation of 4-year plans for high school, and then we'll transition into researching for Images of Greatness.  Topics should be chosen by the end of this week.

8th Critical Concepts:  This week, we'll also be finishing 4-year plans, and then we'll move into an in-depth career exploration.  Students will becoming an expert on a career, and they'll be sharing what they learn in a project.

Weekly Preview: 1/21-1/25, 2013

I hope you were able to watch a little of the Inauguration footage today.  I showed a bit to my classes, and it makes me tear up every time I watch it.  So many people excited to be a part of history.. it makes me so proud.  Between that and remembering Martin Luther King Jr. today, I'm reminded of the very best of America. 

Here's the scoop in room 101 this week:

6th GOAL:  We're working hard on science fair projects this week.  Hypotheses were due today, and students should do their experiments this week.  In class, we're talking about how to professionally contact experts to get more background information, how to make and record good observations, and about how to document all the necessary information for our display boards.

7th GOAL:  We're finalizing History Day topics and working hard to research in the library.  We'll have two weeks of research before organizing our projects.  Titles of projects will have to be finalized by next week so we can get registered for the competition.

8th GOAL & 8th Critical Concepts:  We're working on our 4-year plans for high school, examining possible career choices and looking at how high school classes might lead us to those career goals.

Weekly Preview: 1/14-1/18, 2013

Happy New Year!  After a blogging hiatus, it's back to the trenches.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep this blog more accurate and updated.

6th GOAL:  We were happy to have two new students in our class today.  Welcome!  This week, we'll be finalizing topics, doing background research, locating experts, and developing hypotheses for our projects for the Jefferson County Science Fair. Upcoming weeks' Science Fair work will include: 1/21: Hypotheses due, do experiment, take pictures, consult experts; 1/28: Take photos record observations, make graphs, summarize results; 2/4: Finish experiments, complete charts, record all data, write conclusions (this week we'll be doing a lot of typing); 2/11: work on display boards; 2/19: display boards due, practice presentations; Saturday, February 23: SCIENCE FAIR!

7th GOAL:  We are just dipping our toes into our History Day projects.  This week, we'll be talking about primary resources, we'll be dissecting and analyzing the History Day rules, we'll be looking at project examples, and we'll be brainstorming possible topics for this year's theme: Turning Points in History.

8th GOAL & 8th Critical Concepts:  We are working with Project HOPE from the University of Iowa this week to explore Healthcare Career opportunities.  Next week, we'll start our 4-year plans for high school.